Sheffield Wednesday defender remains unavailable - will miss at least two more games
Sheffield Wednesday will remain without the services of defender, Yan Valery, after Tunisia progressed in the Africa Cup of Nations.
The full back, who has played in Wednesday’s midfield for large parts of this season, helped the Eagles of Carthage secure their spot in the knockout rounds of Africa’s showpiece tournament on Tuesday evening, with the Tunisians finishing second in Group C behind a rampant Nigeria.
Valery was handed another start by Sami Trabelsi for their final group stage fixture against Tanzania, and he completed the full 90 minutes despite being booked early in the tie. Ismael Gharbi gave the Tunisians a first-half lead, and though Feisal Salum got the Taifa Stars level in Rabat the 1-1 draw proved to be enough for Valery and Co.
When could Yan Valery return to Sheffield Wednesday?
Their place as runners-up in the group sets up a tough clash with a Mali side that’s unbeaten in the tournament so far, with that game due to take place on January 3rd at Mohammed V Stadium in Casablanca.
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It means that Valery won’t be available for the games against Preston North End this weekend or the trip to Queens Park Rangers on January 4th, leaving Pedersen’s team without one of their key performers for a little while longer.
The final of the AFCON is set for January 18th, so there’s the potential for Valery to miss four more games in total, however Tunisia aren’t among the favourites to go all the way.
There is hope, however, that Sean Fusire could be back in the mix for the Owls’ game at Deepdale on Thursday after his Zimbabwe side were eliminated on Monday, though that will depend on flights back into the UK.